In the context of COVID-19 data reporting, "confirmed" cases refer to individuals who have tested positive for the virus using a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) or a professional-use or self-test SARS-CoV-2 Antigen-RDT, regardless of clinical or epidemiological criteria. "Reported" data represents the date of reporting, which may be subject to continuous verification and retrospective updates to accurately reflect trends and changes in reporting practices. WHO collects and disseminates data as reported by its Member States, and case detection, definitions, testing strategies, reporting practices, and lag times differ between countries, leading to variable under or overestimation of true case counts and delays in reflecting statistics at a global level. (Source: WHO)
